When the final season of Netflix’s Queer Eye premiered last month, local fans may have spotted its unlikely co-star and unofficial sixth member of the Fab Five: Alexandria. Yet the hit show, which spans ten seasons, almost didn’t film in the city. Queer Eye’s production team had initially reac hed out to the Virginia Film Office in search of production office space anywhere in the region. When word reached Visit Alexandria, whose film office sits within the organization, Mouledoux recognized a rare opportunity to bring the Fab Five to the city. “It was very much a drop-everything [moment],” says Claire Mouledoux, senior vice president of marketing and communications at Visit Alexandria. Mouledoux immediately contacted to Liz Bolton, director of strategic communications at the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, which works to help attract ventures including HQ2 and Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus to the city, to see what might be possible. “We’re both big fans of the show,” Mouledoux says, adding that she and Bolton are equally proactive and quick to jump on new ideas, an approach that helped them bond as they worked to convince Queer Eye producers to set up offices in the city. After weeks of outreach—and a pivotal lunch with one of the show’s head producers—the pair came prepared with a detailed pitch deck tailored to each member of the Fab Five, highlighting Alexandria restaurants, small businesses, and locations they thought would resonate. It worked. “We were kind of freaking out the whole time,” Mouledoux says. Filming ultimately took place over five weeks, with production running from June through August 2025. For Salon deZEN, one of the Alexandria small businesses featured when Jonathan Van Ness helped transform one of the season’s heroes, the impact was immediate. “Our website traffic went through the roof,” says founder Maria Elizabeth. “We were up nearly 100 percent year over year on the day the episode came out.” Elizabeth says fans have since reached out from across the region, grateful to discover an inclusive salon where they feel free to be themselves—something she prioritizes by requiring all staff to undergo LGBTQ+ sensitivity training, including education specific to supporting transgender clients. Still, both Mouledoux and Bolton credit their success to Alexandria itself. “They chose Alexandria because of the values of our community,” Mouledoux says. At a moment when LGBTQ+ symbols—and rainbow crosswalks in some cities—are facing removal amid shifting political attacks, she points to Alexandria’s longstanding commitment to LGBTQ+ history, from its Old Town rainbow crosswalks to its perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index. One of the rainbow crosswalks in Old Town. Photo courtesy of Chris Cruz. But the momentum didn’t stop there. When Georgia Katinas, general manager of Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse—a longtime staple for DC’s LGBTQ+ community—heard the show was filming in the region, she sent a message via Instagram. “They didn’t respond to that, so I wasn’t sure it even reached them,” Katinas says. “But about a week later, I got an email from one of the producers—and it was so exciting.” Within weeks, Queer Eye began filming opening scenes and B-roll at Annie’s during its time in the area. “It was a really big deal,” Katinas says. “That made my whole year.” She says she had the chance to meet each of the Fab Five. Jonathan Van Ness even brought his mom in to eat after filming, while Tan France complimented her outfits, and Antoni Porowski became obsessed with the restaurant’s mac-and-cheese bites. Since the episode aired, Katinas says the outpouring of support has been surreal, with emails and merchandise orders coming in from across the country. “Right now, people are really looking for community and places where they can feel like themselves,” she says. “So having Queer Eye affirm that’s what Annie’s is about on that international scale was really wonderful.” Whether in Alexandria or DC, Mouledoux and Bolton hope the show reflects what they already know to be true about the region: that queer people can find community, visibility, and support here. “I hope fans of the show will see these episodes and get a sense of how welcoming and wonderful Alexandria is,” says Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins. Mouledoux puts it more simply: “I hope they feel a strong sense of welcome.” The Queer Eye cast outside Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse. Photo courtesy of Georgia Katinas.The post Why Alexandria Is So Present in “Queer Eye”‘s Final Season first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less